My Reading Stats for 2017 – A Bookish Overview

It’s finally here- my overview for the year. I made a post like this for a joke (the Mid-Year Reading Report), but you guys seemed to enjoy it and I had fun making it, so I thought I’d do another stats post, for reelz this time.

As I’ve teased a few times I’ve read a lot of books this year, had a lot of opinions and now all will be revealed. Let’s break this down!!

A lot of fun in a short space!

I’m kinda counting the Gulag Archipelago as one book, because technically it is (even though it’s in three volumes). Either way, I’m admittedly proud of finishing this, because even though it was heavy going, it was a personal project for me this year to educate myself a bit more about the evils of communism. After 2000 odd pages of this traumatic reading material, I can safely say being shackled to the state is a bitch. Which leads me onto…

As I teased in my “Most Disappointing Books of the Year” I did have a worst book of the year- and I don’t feel an ounce of remorse for labelling it as such. Not when we look beyond the famous rhetoric and see that this ideology killed hundreds of millions of people globally. What’s really shocking is that it’s easy to see why when reading this (especially if you read it alongside the Gulag or 1984). This book advocates for stifling freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of movement, freedom to have your own family *and* implementation by force. It’s the stuff of nightmares.

Onto happier subjects (although there is a distinctly Russian theme to this post), you guys know by now that I thought this book was MAGICAL. If ever you need to escape from reality for a bit, this is your ticket into a world of fairy tales. Stunningly beautiful and truly evocative of a Russian winter, I can’t recommend this book enough!

I’m actually lousy at DNFing, so even though there were definitely more books I should have given up on, I’m still proud of myself for giving up on these two:

Also Daughter of Smoke and Bone, which I totally forgot about.

(GAHHH SO UNDERRATED!!)

Average rating on Goodreads: 4.74

And that’s a wrap! What was your biggest read this year? Let me know in the comments!

I completely agree with the comment above: 220 books?! I am completely in awe here. Wow, all of a sudden that sabbatical I spoke of earlier is becoming ever more appealing lol. I have this funny feeling that Fantasy is your favorite genre lol 😂😂 Seriously cool post, and I can totally understand your choice for worst book of the year 🙁
But I’m seriously humbled here: wow 220 books…that is absolutely astonishing 😮😮😊😊

Haha, lol, well I have never kept track of hoe much movies/tv/series/anime I have watched in a year, but perhaps I should start doing that next year lol 😂
But 220 books: WoW! (Can’t say that enough 😀😀).

Great list, you’re take on Karl Marx was very interesting, to my shame I’ve not read it. I’m going to check out your favourite book. To answer your question my best read was Harry Potter, but then it is every year.

30+ fivestar books?!?! I barely have half of that this year. But I’ve also realized that I’m pretty stingy with the 5star stamp. maybe I should be more generous? Hahahahahaa!

And that is awesome that your average is 3.5. I’d like to raise my average but I do like reading some trashy forgotten realms books just so I have some grist to rant about. Plus, it helps really, really appreciate the really good books I do read.

Gulag is one of those books I really know I should read but just haven’t gotten around to and have very nebulous plans of “some day”. Maybe next year I’ll begin 😉

And I WISH I had dnf’d Strange and Norrel back in the day. I can’t even remember why I disliked it so much (probably some good fodder for one of those surviving a bad book posts) but even now the very name gets me all hot and red in the face. Glad to see you cut your losses early instead of suffering through that brick.

hahaha yes- I actually totally get that- but that’s where my laziness comes in, cos I was using the goodreads import as the base for my data and I *really* couldn’t be bothered to go through it all to check which ones were actually 4.5*. So that should actually read 4.5-5* (which, to be fair, 30 is still an awesome number to have 😉 )

Yeah I’m really pleased about that cos it is slightly higher than my average (which is closer to 3) hahaha I get that- I’m the same with a lot of trashy YA I pick up in libraries- I mean, I know I shouldn’t read it, buuut…

It’s definitely worth doing- I mean, it’s not in any way something I enjoyed doing, but I try to do at least one “some day” book a year 😉 I hope you get a lot out of it!

hehe yes- I can’t actually put my finger on what it was- I’ve pretty much blocked it out- but something to do with the faux-Austen dialogue and how utterly bored I was had something to do with it 😉 I just got somewhere in the middle and decided enough was enough.

I love your graphs, fancy shmancy! 🙂 My longest book of the year was Lord of Shadows
by Cassandra Clare at 704 pages and it’s also one that is high one the list of favorites for the year out of just over 400 read. 🙂

I once checked Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell out of the library and never read it. 😉 But I just finished The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by the same author, and I quite liked it. It’s a collection of fairy stories but many are set in the 18th century, which is fun.

Your stats are amazing! Yay you! I’m sorry Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell wasn’t for you. I loved it, even with the lengthy footnotes, but I know it’s not for everyone. Did you catch the mini series? If you have Netflix, it’s on there now.😊

LOVE this post ❤
The Bear and the Nightingale is officially on my TBR!
That is amazing that you've read so much about communism. 2000 pages!? That is crazy 🙂 China (where I was born) is a fan of Karl Marx. Thankfully now I am in Canada :') I agree whole-heartedly that people should have the right to freedom of speech!
I feel that in the book community there is a lot of focus on new releases, however, it is great to revisit some of the classics and oldies as well 🙂

Thank you so much!! ❤
Brilliant!!
Yeah it's kind of *the* book that brought down the ideology- detailing how and why it failed (and could never work) Yes, unfortunately a lot of people have a certain reverence for him. Absolutely!
Yes for sure 😊
Thanks so much for your brilliant comment!

Oh my word, I love your graphs so much! Mine is posted for the 2nd, but I am so envious already looking at yours! And holy moly, did you read some books this year! Congrats, love! Also, Bear and the Nightingale being your number 1 honestly made me so damn happy. Such a perfect book! Happy New Year, love! I hope 2018 has a buddy read or two for us in store! ❤ xx

Nice job! Looks like you had a great year, and it’s also really neat to see all your stats in graphs like that. Glad to know another power reading! My final tally for the year will be 200 books, it seems, though I just barely squeaked by with the last one finished today!

HOW did you read so much? Do you have some sort of magical powers?? I am so impressed and I LOVE these pie charts, wish I had the patience to do so… oh, maybe next year, haha 🙂
Hope you’ll have a lovely day and all the best for 2018!! xx

My longest book is Night Film, but I also read several thick fantasies. Your stats look so great! I also plan on rereading more books in 2018, this year I only reread 1 book, which I plan to definitely change 😀

Really interesting to look back on your reading stats for this year!! The book of the year for me would have to be the selection series by kiera cass it has me booked from the beginning and the characters felt so real to me 😀 xx

Both, the longest and the highest rated (according to Goodreads), book that I read this year was A Court of Wings and Ruin. I gave out a ridiculous amount of 5 stars this year, so … I don’t know what that says about me haha

Great post, I am definitely not surprised to see The Bear and The Nightingale made your top read of 2017. I’ve actually ordered that book myself so I can’t wait for it to arrive so I can start it myself and see what all the fuss is about. Also wow I am definitely in awe of the fact that you’ve managed to read 220 books this year, I thought my goal of 109 was impressive. Seriously what is your secret?! 😀
Again great post, and I hope you have an incredible 2018. 🙂 ❤

Wow! There are just so many things I want to say about this post (apologies in advance)

1. What a great idea for a post. I’m jealous of your pie charts! I’m totally stealing this idea 😂

2. Oh god, Jonathan Strange and Mrs Norell. I actually own two copies of this massive pile of nonsense. Both have tiny text, flimsy pages like a hotel bible but still manage to be ridiculously heavy. I’ve only DNF’d three books in my whole life and this is one of them. I kept seeing people that loved it and for the life of me couldn’t understand why.

3. What a great idea to have a “books that are difficult and offputting but I still want to read” category that you tackle by getting through one a year. I’m putting Gravity’s Rainbow, The Master and Margarita, and Crime and Punishment straight on to this list.

4. That’s such an interesting take on communism. I studied it a tiny bit as part of my degree and I came to the conclusion that at a time where religion was the dominant ideology, communism in its purest form was a secular attempt at equality. I don’t agree with all of his ideas, but I do think that Marx was genuinely trying to make life better for the working classes. I would argue that it’s more the interpretation of his theories that have led to horrendous oppression, starvation and control that we’ve seen come to fruition. For example, the trade union movement was welcomed by Marx as a method of giving the proletariat power over their employers, and led to modern day employment legislation, HR departments, employment contracts etc. Anyway, that’s just my interpretation (based on what I can remember – it’s a really long time since I read the Communist Manifesto).

5. HOW ARE YOU READING SO MANY BOOKS? You’ve made me feel all competitive, and that’s generally when bad things happen 😂 I’m smiling through gritted teeth at your achievement!

6. Bon année! (I forgot to write that on your resolutions post – it’s pretty much the only French I can remember except for all the stuff I learnt about “where is the tourism office” and “I am eleven”. Oh, and the names for different animals, because I drew some little pictures of them in the margin of my exercise book that I was quite proud of.)

2. Ahh I know- I just couldn’t get into it and I just don’t understand the hype tbh.

3. Thank you!! And I really love Dostoevsky- so of course I think Crime and Punishment is amazing- really hope you like it. And I definitely am planning on reading Master and Margarita soon actually.

4. Hehe not that interesting a take 😉 The question of intent is a very interesting one and very hard to prove either way. However, my own philosophy is based on a psychological theory that a good measure for intent is often the result of someone’s actions- for instance, if there’s a mostly peaceful transition of power, such as with Mandela in South Africa, the intentions are probably good. And if an ideology results in the deaths of (hundreds of) millions of civilians, it’s probably safe to presume the intentions were not so good. But more so, the actual document for the Communist Manifesto (and consequently the ideology in its purest form) details how to take away freedoms and rights (travel, speech, property – etc) by force- it’s pretty hard to justify that on its own- and when you read the Gulag Archipelago (which is the most thorough detailing of the crimes of Marxism in the Soviet Union) you can see the direct correlation of its implementation and the loss of so many lives. Personally, I’d put the huge loss of life above any assumed benefits (which often arise from multiple factors and were often more reactive eg the origins of the Welfare State under Bismarck). I mean Nazism was big on animal rights and Human Rights were invented in response to it, but I don’t exactly think it deserves credit. Sorry if I come off as a little strong, I’m pretty unapologetic about my dislike for the two most murderous ideologies of the 20th century.

5. Hahahaha honestly I don’t know- it was a funny fluke this year.

6. hehe merci beaucoup. Hehehe I can really relate!! The French I learnt in school was mostly names of animals and food. Also this conversation reminds me of the joke from Jack Whitehall about how all British teens learn phrases like “Ou est la piscine dan la Rochelle?”

No, I really think your take on Marx is interesting because I just don’t remember the Communist Manifesto being like that. At all. I’ve never heard anyone critique it like that. Although I wasn’t the most engaged student and all my lecturers were pretty pro Marx, so that might have something to do with it. I’m off to dig out my old copy for a re-read. And possibly file a complaint with the University 😊.

It doesn’t surprise me, a lot of people come out with different opinions on it and there’s always that “were we reading the same document” moment 😉 But people are too sympathetic to Marxism. Personally I did a line by line analysis and found it fundamentally resentful and questionable at the best of times. And I also really recommend checking out the Gulag Archipelago, which details the crimes of the ideology. hahaha yes 😉

I will do. I’ve also just dug out a Richard Pipes book on communism (Communism – the history of the intellectual and political movement) as a starting point (it looks woefully under-read). Have you heard of him? According to the blurb he’s the greatest living historian of modern Russia. He’s referenced the Gulag Archipelago and suggested it for further reading.

Isn’t it amazing what you find when you actually look at your bookshelves?

I hadn’t heard of him- but thank you so much for sharing!! I’ve just looked him up and his work sounds fascinating. (I know it’s really dorky but I’m excited to check it out) Thank you very much!! Absolutely! 😀

Not to be a creep but if I could walk in someone else’s shoes for a day, I’d choose you so I could have your brilliant brains and knowledge about some of those books in a snap! 😀 Great stuff, 220 books is mahoosive and some seriously good stuff in there as well…

read books!!! You even dish out amazing reviews that no one else would be able to write up!! I do love that almost 50% is fantasy. Guess that wasn’t much of a surprise though hahah Also like that you have a couple of classics as reread. Do you plan these out? Except for Hobbit since that’s a tradition of yours hahah Definitely enjoyed these stats-focused post though! Thanks for sharing!! 😀

hahaha no worries- tbh for this year, I didn’t watch as much TV or films as I usually do, so that answers that question 😉 Aww thank you!! Yeah I did actually plan to reread 1984 from the beginning of the year and I wanted to revive my annual tradition of reading the Hobbit 😉 hehe well remembered!! Thank you for reading and for your awesome comment!! 😀

This is a super fun post! I love all the stats. How did you compile all those together?! It seems like so much work— but I only really track my reading via Goodreads. So, putting together pie charts like that would be MEGA tedious for me. You must have a better system than just GR…

I am SUPER impressed that you read over 200 books!!! WOWZA! Nicely done. And only two DNFs? No wonder that you are trying to give up on books more next year. 😉

…and in case you can’t hear it, I’m cheering wildly over here for your completion of Gulag Archipelago. I am SUPER impressed you read this AND 200+ books! I know you’ve been working on it forever. I bow to your superior reading skills.

OH! That’s super cool– but you’re right, time consuming. Did you decide on the genres yourself? I sometimes struggle to ID books with a single genre; there are so few proper definitions of genres these days…

hehe mostly- some I had to look up and see what places like GR put it as. I tried to make a second column with second genre- and sort of do a venn diagram- but that was wayyy too complicated, so I figured my guesstimates would do 😉

I thought I had commented! ♥️ you are so amazing and I’ve got to add my voice! I read about this many too, but my secret is that I read a ton of picture books with my nephew! I can’t imagine reading this many and it being like regular 300+ page books! I’m not a speedy reader anyway so… And the genre breakdown! Super fun to see where you spend your time. I’m not surprised fantasy won out, you are a marked fantasy fan. ♥️ Fun!

Aww thank you!! I think that’s awesome that you read so many either way. And to be honest, I can relate- I read so many more YA than usual and graphic novels, and fewer classics, which really pushed my numbers up. heheh thanks! ❤